Electronic Offer Management System and Method Thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic offer management system and method thereof is disclosed. In particular, the system comprises means for receiving information related to a plurality of offers distributed by a plurality of different offer distributors to customer for redemption at plurality of stores, means for automatically routing the information related to an offer to a point-of-sale system of each store in which the offer can be redeemed, and means for automatically clearing the offers redeemed by the customer at the stores. The system further comprises means for automatically reconciling financial obligations associated with each cleared offer, as well means for dynamically profiling customers so that improved offer targeting can be achieved.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/665,790, filed on Sep. 20, 2000, currently pending, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an electronic offer management system and method thereof, and more particularly to a system that enables the electronic management of offers distributed by a plurality of different offer distributors to customers and the dynamic profiling of such customers so that improved offer targeting can be achieved.

Today, about twenty percent (20%) of all sales in grocery retail are covered by some promotion or offer. These offers are found in a variety of forms including temporary price reductions, in-store displays, manufacturer-sponsored coupon offers, advertisements, and frequent shopper (i.e., loyalty) discounts. Traditionally, such offers have been distributed to customers via “physical” media (i.e. direct mailers, printers, displays at the register, Sunday coupon inserts, magazines, etc.). Given the manual nature of such a system of distribution, however, customer-specific offers based on a variety of factors, such as demographics, past purchasing behavior, and price sensitivity are impractical. This in turn has a substantial impact on the effectiveness and cost of providing offers through such a system. For retailers having numerous competing product lines, such as supermarkets, this offer targeting capability is critical. Moreover, clearing and settlement of offers distributed in such a manner is technically infeasible with respect to time, labor and thus, cost intensive.

With the advent of the Internet as a new ecommerce tool, offers are now also being distributed “virtually” to customers. For example, companies such as Cool Savings, PlanetU and ValuPage are operating websites from which customers can obtain coupons redeemable at various retail stores and supermarkets, as well as at stores having an online presence. Traditional retailers are also beginning to distribute offers online. For example, Schnucks supermarket provides its weekly advertisements, as well as coupons online. Offer targeting across a plurality of different offer distributors or based on “non-customer” data, such as price, is not allowed. Moreover, the clearance and settlement of such offers are still performed largely through a manual process and in a decentralized manner. As a result, fraudulently fabricated offers cannot be accurately tracked and thus, prevented.

Finally, under current methods of offer distribution, retailers must customize their point-of-sale (POS) system according to each offer distributor's technical design structure. In addition, the entire offer transaction from creation through redemption, clearance and settlement is not centralized, thereby increasing the complexity of the interfaces needed between the parties to the entire transaction. Moreover, data relevant to the transaction and necessary for sophisticated levels of targeting cannot be obtained from a single source, thereby decreasing its accessibility, accuracy and completeness. Given that the primary purpose of providing such offers is to drive up the number of new sales, the inability to manage electronic offers in a centralized manner and to dynamically profile customers and target offers increases the overall costs and effectiveness of the offers.

Accordingly, there is a need for an electronic offer management system in which offers can be distributed by a plurality of different offer distributors for automatic routing to a store's point of sale system, and in which such offers can be automatically cleared and settled once redeemed, such that an electronic audit of the entire offer transaction, and dynamic profiling of customers for improved offer targeting can be achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An electronic offer management system for offer transactions is disclosed. The system comprises receiving means for receiving information related to a plurality of offers distributed by a plurality of different offer distributors to customers for redemption at a plurality of stores, routing means for automatically routing the information related to each offer to a point-of-sale system of each store in which the offer can be redeemed, and clearing means for automatically clearing the offers redeemed by the customers at the stores. The plurality of offer distributors comprises at least one of an interne offer distributor, a retailer offer distributor, a kiosk offer distributor, a direct mail offer distributor, and an email offer distributor.

The clearing means comprises means for receiving redemption information from the stores, and means for comparing the redemption information to the offer information whereby each offer redeemed by the customers can be validated. The system further comprises settlement means for automatically reconciling financial obligations associated with each offer cleared by the clearing means, whereby a single, electronic audit of each offer transaction can be achieved.

The system further comprises activation means for selectively activating and deactivating each offer. The system also further comprises profiling means for dynamically profiling the customers so that the offers can be targeted to specific customers, and offer consolidation means for consolidating the offers available through the system for presentation to the customer at a plurality of levels. The profiling means preferably comprises at least one of a static profile, a persistent profile and a dynamic profile. The plurality of levels comprises at least one of an offer distributor level and a store level. Each offer corresponds to a reward, and the system further comprises reward deferral means for deferring issuance of the reward to a third party. The offer information comprises at least one condition, which is at least one of an item purchase condition, a department purchase condition, a total purchase condition, a time of day condition and a day of the week condition.

A method of electronic management of offer transactions is also disclosed. The method comprises receiving information related to a plurality of offers distributed by a plurality of different offer distributors to customers for redemption at a plurality of stores, automatically routing the information of each offer to a point-of-sale system of each store in which the offer can be redeemed, and automatically clearing the offers redeemed by the customers at the stores.

The method further comprises the step of automatically reconciling financial obligations associated with each cleared offer whereby a single, electronic audit of each offer transaction can be achieved. The method also further comprises the step of receiving redemption information from the stores, and comparing the redemption information to the offer information whereby each offer redeemed by the customers can be validated. The method also preferably comprises the step of selectively activating each offer, and consolidating the offers for presentation to the customer at a plurality of levels, such as offer distributor level and a store level. The method also further comprises the step of dynamically profiling the customers so that the offers can be targeted to specific customers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the flow of information in an electronic offer management system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart representing the process of dynamic profiling provided by the system of FIG. 1

FIG. 3A is a spreadsheet showing an example of a non-targeted offer.

FIG. 3B is a spreadsheet showing an example of a static profile-targeted offer generated through the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3C is a spreadsheet showing an example of a persistent profile-targeted offer generated through the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3D is a spreadsheet showing an example of a dynamic profile-targeted offer generated through the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to an electronic offer management system and method thereof. FIG. 1 illustrates the main components of the system represented as 10, as well as the flow of information there through. In summary, offers are distributed to customers by a plurality of different offer distributors 12. The details of the offers are communicated to an electronic clearing network 13 and routed to the appropriate store 28 for redemption by customers. Transaction log files containing point-of-sale transaction details are forwarded back to network 13 where a clearing process identifies what offers have been redeemed and validates them against the offers communicated to network 13. Settlement details are also prepared for processing by a settlement agent 30. For the purposes of discussion only, system 10 will be described with respect to offers written in extensive Markup language (XML) having a representative documentation convention for XML element and attribute tags as described below. It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, however, that the offer may be defined using other languages or formats that allow for the functionality described herein, such as for example the Hypertext Markup language.

Element/Attribute Tag Description /SOX Element aggregate tag. /SOX/@Version Element attribute tag identified with a @. /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Shortened form for: OfferProperties /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ OfferProperties/MemberOffer ../MemberOffer ../RewardSet[ ]/ItemPurchase/ Element list has [ ] appended (occurrence ItemList/Item[ ] indicator). In the example ../RewardSet[ ] is an aggregate element that must appear once or many times. In this example, the ../Item[ ] element must appear once or many times within each instance of /RewardSet[ ].

Referring to FIG. 1, the process starts through the distribution of an offer to a customer by an offer distributor 12 that is available for redemption at one or more stores 28, which can be traditional brick-and-mortar stores, direct mail stores, online stores or any other type or form of store. In one embodiment, this is done in conjunction with a manufacturer (not shown) who is the sponsor of the offer and thus, bears the cost of it. Offers are distributed via a plurality of different offer distributors including but not limited to Internet offer distributors 14, in-store kiosk offer distributors 16, retailer offer distributors 18, and direct mail/email offer distributors 20. System 10 operates using five (5) XML document types, namely Offer, CustomerOffer, OfferAck, CustomerOfferAck and ErrorResponse.

The Offer document type defines the generic offer setup (i.e. offer properties, conditions, and rewards) and routing instructions. In a preferred embodiment, each Offer document is limited to information related to a single offer being distributed by a particular offer distributor 12. The maintenance actions supported by the Offer document type are to add, replace or delete an offer, and are identified in a tabular format as shown below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer Aggregate 0 Once Required Offer: Always The /SOX/Offer aggregate element may contain: One /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq aggregate element and one /SOX/Offer/OfferRouteReq aggregate element; OR One /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq aggregate element only; OR One /SOX/Offer/OfferRouteReq aggregate element only. ../@OfferID String 12 Once Required Offer ID: Always Number is provided by offer distributor and must be unique for that distributor. ../OfferMaintReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Maintenance Request: Encapsulates Offer maintenance request details for @OfferID above. ../OfferMaintReq/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: @Action String Offer maintenance action requested. Valid values: Add Replace Delete The CustomerOffer document type defines any customer-specific offer setup and routing instructions. The OfferAck document type represents the positive acknowledgement returned by the network 13 upon its successful processing of an Offer document type. Likewise, CustomerOfferAck document type represents the positive acknowledgement returned by the network 13 upon its successful processing of a CustomerOffer document type. Finally, ErrorResponse document type represents the negative acknowledgement returned by the network 13 upon encountering an error in the course of processing an Offer or CustomerOffer document type. These document types preferably adhere to the document type definition (DTD) as identified in Appendix 1.

There are three (3) main components to each offer, namely offer properties, conditions, and rewards. Offer properties are the data elements that serve to generally describe an offer, such as a description, valid date range, and the number of times a customer may receive the reward(s) associated with that offer. Each Offer document includes a header, a representative sample of which is identified in a tabular format below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX Aggregate 0 Once Required Document Root Element: Always Identifies this as a SOX XML document. ../@OfferDistributorID String 6 Once Required Offer Distributor ID: Always Assigned by the ECN. Value = 1-999999 ../@SenderDocUID String 12 Once Required Sender's Document Unique ID: Always Sender's unique reference code for this document for audit trail purposes. ../@Version String 3 Once Required SOX Version of File: Always Version of SOX to which this document conforms. Value = 1.0 ../@AckRequested Enumerated 7 Once Required Acknowledgement Requested: String Always Defines type of acknowledgement requested. Supported values: Normal Terse Verbose ../@SOXType Enumerated 5 Once Required Sox Type: String Always Indicates type of SOX XML document. All SOX documents have this attribute with appropriate values. Value = Offer

The header includes an @ Offer DistributorID parameter that represents an identifier assigned by the network 13 for each offer distributor 12 of system 10. The @ SenderDocUID parameter represents a unique reference code which identifies the XML document to its sender so he or she can later refer to it. This parameter is used for audit trail purposes. The @ Version parameter represents the version of the specification to which the Offer document conforms. The @ AckRequested parameter defines the type of acknowledgement requested for the Offer document (i.e., normal, terse, verbose). The @ SOXType document identifies the type of XML document (in this case, “Offer”).

A representative sample of the plurality of offer properties available through system 10 is identified in a tabular format as shown below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Properties: OfferProperties Contains Offer Properties for @OfferID above. This element is required when /SOX/Offer/@Action = “Add” or “Replace”. It is not required when /SOX/Offer/@Action = “Delete”. ../MemberOffer String 3 Once Required Member Offer: Is loyalty program membership required? Valid values: Yes No When membership is not a requirement, all customers are eligible to participate in the Offer. ../StaffAllowed String 3 Once Required Staff Allowed: Can staff participate in this offer? Valid values: Yes No ../OfferType String 6 Once Required Offer Type: Coupon type for monetary rewards. (For tax calculations.) Valid values: Vendor Store ../OfferXactLimit String 2 Once Required Offer Transaction Limit: Maximum number of times this offer may be used per transaction. Value = 0-9, or -1 (= unlimited). If value = 0, this offer is not active. ../OfferCustLimit String 2 Once Required Offer Customer Limit: Total number of times this offer may be used, across transactions. Value = 0-9, or -1 (= unlimited). ../OfferStartDateTime Aggregate 0 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Date/time when the offer becomes active. Encapsulates the elements that define the timestamp. ../OfferStartDateTime/ String 4 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Year Year Format: CCYY ../OfferStartDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Month Month Format: MM Value = 01-12 ../OfferStartDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Day Day Format: DD Value = 01-31 ../OfferStartDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Hour Hour Format: HH Value = 00-23 ../OfferStartDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer Start Date Time: Minute Minute Format: MM Value = 00-59 ../OfferEndDateTime Aggregate 0 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Date/time after which the offer expires. Encapsulates the elements that define the timestamp. ../OfferEndDateTime/ String 4 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Year Year Format: CCYY ../OfferEndDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Month Month Format: MM Value = 01-12 ../OfferEndDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Day Day Format: DD Value = 01-31 ../OfferEndDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Hour Hour Format: HH Value = 00-23 ../OfferEndDateTime/ String 2 Once Required Offer End Date Time: Minute Minute Format: MM Value = 00-59 ../OfferDescription String 40 Once Required Offer Description: Text description of the promotion - printed on checkout receipt. Format on checkout receipt: 2 lines of 20 characters each. ../OfferReportDescription String 40 Once Required Offer Report Description: Text description of the offer for reporting purposes. ../OfferSponsorSettlementID String 9 Once Required Offer Sponsor Settlement ID: Assigned by the ECN. Value = 1-999999999 ../DeferredReward String 3 Once Required Deferred Reward: Is reward to be received in a deferred manner (or directed to another party), or is it to be received at checkout. Valid values: “Yes” = Deferred receipt. “No” = Checkout receipt.

MemberOffer is a field representing whether an offer is open to the public or requires membership to a frequent shopper, loyalty or similar-type program. StaffAllowed is a field representing the employees of the store to which the offer has been routed. OfferType is a field representing whether the offer is being offered by a vendor or a store. OfferXactLimit is a field representing the maximum number of times the offer may be used by a customer per transaction. OfferCustLimit is a field representing the maximum number of times the offer may be used by a customer across transactions. OfferStartDateTime is an aggregate field representing the date and time when the offer becomes active (broken down by year, month, day, hour and minute), while OfferEndDateTime is an aggregate field representing the date and time after which the offer may not be used (broken down by year, month, day, hour and minute). OfferDescription is a field representing a text description of the offer, which is preferably printed out on the customer's checkout receipt upon redemption. OfferReportDescription is a field representing a text description of the offer for reporting purposes, such as offer performance analysis. OfferSponsorSettlementID is a field representing the unique number used to identify the sponsor of each offer. DeferredReward is a field indicating whether a reward associated with an offer is to be received in a deferred manner or directed to another party. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the number and type of offer properties may vary depending on the application.

A representative sample of the plurality of conditions required for redeeming an offer through system 10 is identified in tabular format as shown below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Conditions: OfferConditions Encapsulates the Conditions applicable to @OfferID. This element is required when ../Offer/@Action = “Add” or “Replace”. It is not required when ../Offer/@Action = “Delete”. /@ConditionSetCount String 1 Once Required Condition Set Count: Number of Condition Set instances in this document. Value = 1-7 ../ConditionSet[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Condition Set: List or Encapsulates the details of a Many single Condition Set. This element must contain only one of the following available Condition Set type elements: ItemPurchase DeptPurchase TotalPurchase TimeOfDay DayOfWeek ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Enumerated 1 Once Required Condition Set ID: @ConditionSetID String Value = 0-7 Value must be mutually exclusive with other @ConditionSetID values and /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/OfferRewards/ RewardSet[ ]/@RewardSetID values. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Item Purchase: ItemPurchase Element which encapsulates the details of the ItemPurchase Condition Set type. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Enumerated 8 Once Required Measure: ItemPurchase/@Measure String Defines the basis on which this Condition Set type is measured. Valid values: Quantity Weight Amount Where “Amount” is a monetary amount. If “Weight” is specified, the Offer Distributor is responsible for ensuring that Items in ItemList are sold by weight. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Item List: ItemPurchase/ItemList Encapsulates items that may be purchased interchangeably to meet this Condition. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Item Count: ItemPurchase/ItemList/ The number of ..ItemList/Item[ ] @ItemCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 12 One Required Item: ItemPurchase/ItemList/ List or UPC/EAN Code of eligible item Item[ ] Many without the check digit. All 12 digits must be specified even if leading zero's are needed. Compressed UPC is not permitted. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 1 Once Required Condition Check Flag: ItemPurchase/CondChkFlg Valid values: “0” = Once conditions are met, rewards issued for all qualifying items thereafter. “1” = Conditions must be met each time to receive rewards. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Measure Value: ItemPurchase/ Metric of MeasureValue ../ItemPurchase/@Measure required to be purchased. Value = 1-2147483647 If ../ItemPurchase/@Measure = Quantity, Value is in units. = Weight, Value is in hundredths of pounds. = Amount, Value is in cents. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Department Purchase: DeptPurchase Element which encapsulates the details of the DeptPurchase Condition Set type. The Offer Distributor is responsible for the correct identification of departments. It is recommended that only the store operator uses this Condition Set type. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Department List: DeptPurchase/DeptList Element encapsulating the store departments from which items may be purchased interchangeably to meet this Condition. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Department Count: DeptPurchase/DeptList/ The number of ..DeptList/Dept[ ] @DeptCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 4 One Required Department: DeptPurchase/DeptList/ List or Store department from which Dept[ ] Many items must be purchased. Value = 1-9999 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 1 Once Required Condition Check Flag: DeptPurchase/CondChkFlg Valid values: “0” = Once conditions are met, rewards issued for all qualifying items thereafter. “1” = Conditions must be met each time to receive rewards. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Amount: DeptPurchase/Amount The monetary amount required to be purchased expressed in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Total Purchase: TotalPurchase/ Element which encapsulates the details of the TotalPurchase Condition Set type. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Enumerated 12 Once Required Includes: TotalPurchase/@Includes String Defines whether “All” items or only those that are “Discountable” are included in the total of purchases to be evaluated. Valid values: All Discountable ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 1 Once Required Condition Check Flag: TotalPurchase/CondChkFlag Valid values: “0” = Once conditions are met, rewards issued for all qualifying items thereafter. “1” = Conditions must be met each time to receive rewards. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Amount: TotalPurchase/Amount The total monetary amount required to be purchased expressed in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Time Of Day: TimeOfDay Element which encapsulates the details of the TimeOfDay Condition Set type. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Start Time: TimeOfDay/StartTime Encapsulates the details of StartTime. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Hour: TimeOfDay/StartTime/ Format: HH Hour Value: 00-23 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Minute: TimeOfDay/StartTime/ Format: MM Minute Value: 00-59 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required End Time: TimeOfDay/EndTime Encapsulates the details of EndTime. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Hour: TimeOfDay/EndTime/ Format: HH Hour Value: 00-23 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Minute: TimeOfDay/EndTime/ Format: MM Minute Value: 00-59 ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Day Of Week: DayOfWeek Element which encapsulates the details of the DayOfWeek Condition Set type. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Sunday: DayOfWeek/Sunday Indicates whether the Offer is available on Sundays. Note that at least one of the days should have a “Yes” value. Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Monday: DayOfWeek/Monday Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Tuesday: DayOfWeek/Tuesday Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Wednesday: DayOfWeek/Wednesday Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Thursday: DayOfWeek/Thursday Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Friday: DayOfWeek/Friday Valid values: Yes No ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 3 Once Required Saturday: DayOfWeek/Saturday Valid values: Yes No

Conditions are the rules or requirements for receiving the reward(s) associated with a particular offer. The conditions associated with an offer are defined by a plurality of condition sets. In one embodiment, there are five (5) types of condition sets, namely an item purchase condition set, a department purchase condition set, a total purchase condition set, a time of day condition set and a day of week condition set. The item purchase condition set identifies the item or items that must be purchased, which can be broken down by quantity, weight and/or amount. The department purchase condition set identifies the department or departments from which each item must be purchased. The total purchase condition set identifies the amount of total purchases required. The time of day condition set identifies a time period during which rewards may be received. The day of week condition set identifies the day(s) of the week on which the rewards may be received. Each condition set is programmed such that once conditions are met, rewards are issued for all qualifying items. While only one condition set type is allowed for each condition set, more than one condition set may contain the same condition set type. One skilled in the art can appreciate, however, that the number and type of condition sets may vary depending on the application. In one embodiment, seven (7) condition sets may be defined. When multiple condition sets are specified, all of the conditions in each set must be met in order to receive the corresponding rewards.

A representative sample of the plurality of reward parameters available through system 10 is identified in tabular format below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Rewards: OfferRewards Encapsulates the Rewards applicable to @OfferID. This element is required when /SOX/Offer/@Action = “Add” or “Replace”. It is not required when /SOX/Offer/@Action = “Delete”. ../@RewardSetCount String 1 Once Required Reward Set Count: Number of Reward Set instances in this document. Value = 1-7 ../RewardSet[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Reward Set: List or Encapsulates the details of a Many single Reward Set. This element must contain only one of the following available Reward Set type elements: ItemDiscount DeptDiscount TotalDiscount FreeItem ReplacementPriceMethod1 ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 1 Once Required Reward Set ID: @RewardSetID String Value = 0-7 Value must be mutually exclusive with other @RewardSetID values and /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/OfferConditions/ ConditionSet[ ]/@ConditionSetID values. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Item Discount: ItemDiscount Element which encapsulates the details of the ItemDiscount Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Basis: ItemDiscount/ String Defines the basis on which @Basis Rewards will be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Item List: ItemDiscount/ Element encapsulating the items ItemList that may receive this Reward. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Item Count: ItemDiscount/ The number of ..ItemList/Item[ ] ItemList/@ItemCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 12 One Required Item: ItemDiscount/ List or UPC/EAN Code of eligible item ItemList/Item[ ] Many without the check digit. All 12 digits must be specified even if leading zero's are needed. Compressed UPC is not permitted. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Reward Limit: ItemDiscount/ Maximum number of Rewards which RewardLimit can be issued each time the Conditions of the Offer are met. Value = 1-9, or −1 (= unlimited). ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: ItemDiscount/ Metric of ../ItemDiscount/@Basis BasisValue to be applied. If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the price of an item will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Department Discount: DeptDiscount Element which encapsulates the details of the DeptDiscount Reward Set type. The Offer Distributor is responsible for the correct identification of departments. It is recommended that only the store operator uses this Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Basis: DeptDiscount/ String Defines the basis on which @Basis Rewards will be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Department List: DeptDiscount/ Element encapsulating the store DeptList departments whose items are eligible to receive this Reward. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Department Count: DeptDiscount/ The number of ..DeptList/Dept[ ] DeptList/@DeptCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 4 One Required Department: DeptDiscount/ List or Store department whose items are DeptList/Dept[ ] Many eligible to receive this Reward. Value = 1-9999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Reward Limit: DeptDiscount/ Maximum number of Rewards which RewardLimit can be issued each time the Conditions of the Offer are met. Value = 1-9, or −1 (= unlimited). ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: DeptDiscount/ Metric of ../DeptDiscount/@Basis BasisValue to be applied. If ../DeptDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../DeptDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the total value of purchases of items in eligible departments will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/Total Aggregate 0 Once Optional Total Discount: Discount Element which encapsulates the details of the TotalDiscount Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Basis: TotalDiscount/@Basis String Defines the basis on which Rewards will be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Reward Limit: TotalDiscount/RewardLimit Maximum number of Rewards which can be issued each time the Conditions of the Offer are met. Value = 1-9, or −1 (= unlimited). ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: TotalDiscount/BasisValue Metric of ../TotalDiscount/@Basis to be applied. If ../TotalDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../TotalDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the total value of purchases will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Free Item: FreeItem Element which encapsulates the details of the FreeItem Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Item List: FreeItem/ Element encapsulating the items ItemList that may receive this Reward. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Item Count: FreeItem/ The number of ..ItemList/Item[ ] ItemList/@ItemCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 12 One Required Item: FreeItem/ List or UPC/EAN Code of eligible item ItemList/Item[ ] Many without the check digit. All 12 digits must be specified even if leading zero's are needed. Compressed UPC is not permitted. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Reward Limit: FreeItem/ Maximum number of Rewards which RewardLimit can be issued each time the Conditions of the Offer are met. Value = 1-9, or −1 (= unlimited). ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Replacement Price Method 1: ReplacementPriceMethod1 Element which encapsulates the details of the ReplacementPriceMethod1 Reward Set type. The replacement price to be applied follows IBM 4690 Supermarket Application pricing method 1 logic. Pricing methods 0, 2, 3, and 4 may be supported in future versions of the system, if required. This Reward Set type may not be used for weighed or NSC 02 items. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Item List: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ Element encapsulating the items ItemList that may receive this Reward. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 4 Once Required Item Count: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ The number of ..ItemList/Item[ ] ItemList/@ItemCount entries to follow. Value = 1-9999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 12 Once Required Item: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ List or UPC/EAN Code of eligible item ItemList/Item[ ] Many without the check digit. All 12 digits must be specified even if leading zero's are needed. Compressed UPC is not permitted. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 8 Once Required Deal Price: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ Total price, in cents, of DealPrice DealQuantity units. Value = 1-99999999 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Deal Quantity: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ Number of units received for DealQuantity DealPrice. Value = 1-99 ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Reward Limit: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ Maximum number of Rewards which RewardLimit can be issued each time the Conditions of the Offer are met. Value = 1-9, or −1 (= unlimited).

Rewards are the benefits received by the customers when the conditions are met. The reward(s) associated with an offer are defined by a plurality of rewards sets. In one embodiment, there are five (5) reward set types, namely the item discount reward, the department discount reward, the total discount reward, the free item reward and the replacement price reward. One skilled in the art can appreciate, however, that the number and type of rewards may vary depending on the application. For example, rewards can be deferred to a third party, such as deposits directly into a mutual fund or a child's college fund.

The item discount reward is applied to the price of a specific item or item(s). The department discount reward is applied to the price of items in a certain department or departments. The total discount reward is applied to the total price of a customer's total purchases. The free item reward is applied to reduce the price of a specific item or items to zero. The replacement price reward is applied to replace an existing price for a specific item or items. While only one reward set type is allowed for each reward set, more than one reward set may contain the same reward set type. When multiple reward sets are specified, all possible rewards are given if the corresponding conditions are met.

Once the offers have been created, they are routed to the appropriate store or stores in which they are valid for redemption. A preferred format for offer store routing is provided below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer/OfferRouteReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Route Request: Encapsulates all Offer store routing requests. ../StoreList[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store List: List or Encapsulates details of all Many stores for which the same @Action is required for this @OfferID. ../StoreList[ ]/@Action Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: String Defines maintenance operation to be performed for this @Offer for this StoreList[ ]. Valid values: Add Replace Delete ../StoreList[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Store Count: @StoreCount The number of ../StoreList/Store[ ] entries to follow. Value = 1-2147483647 ../StoreList[ ]/ Aggregate 0 One Required Store: Store[ ] List or Encapsulates the details of Many one store. ../StoreList[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Store ID: Store[ ]/ Assigned by ECN. StoreID Unique Store Identifier. Valid value: 1-2147483647 ../StoreList[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Service Priority: Store[ ]/ Indicates maximum processing ServicePriority delay for requested routing service. Supported values for the Pilot: “ON” = Overnight Beyond Pilot: “RT” = Real-time “15” = 15 Minutes “HR” = 1 Hour

The OfferRouteReq parameter encapsulates all offer store routing requests. The Storelist parameter encapsulates the details of all stores for which the same maintenance action is required for a particular offer. In particular, the @ Action parameter defines the particular maintenance action to be performed for the list of stores identified by the Storelist parameter. The Storecount parameter identifies the number of stores to which to apply said action. The Store parameter encapsulates the details of one store, namely the identification value assigned to the store by network 13. The ServicePriority parameter identifies the maximum processing delay for the requested routing service (i.e., overnight, real-time, or set-time).

In a preferred embodiment, customer-specific variations can be introduced with respect to an offer through the CustomerOffer document type, which has the same header format as that for the Offer document type, with the value of the @ SOXType parameter being “CustomerOffer.” A customer offer contains replacement values for some of the offer properties and rewards that are “overlaid” on top of the “generic” offer values when a customer identifies himself or herself at the time of purchase, such as through a loyalty card. A preferred format for the maintenance, the offer properties, rewards and offer routing for the Customer Offer document type are similar to that for an Offer document type and are identified in tabular format below, respectively.

Customer Offer Maintenance Request

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Customer Offer: or Always The /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ] Many aggregate element may contain: One /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/CustOfferMaint Req aggregate element and one /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/CustOfferRoute Req aggregate element; OR One /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/CustOfferMaint Req aggregate element only; OR One /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/CustOfferRoute Req aggregate element only. ../@OfferID String 12 Once Required Offer ID: Always Number is provided by offer distributor and must be unique for that distributor. Value = 1-999999999999 ../@MerchantID String 10 Once Required Merchant ID: Always Assigned by ECN. Identifies the issuing organization for the Customer's loyalty card. Value: 1-2147483647 ../@CustomerID String 18 Once Required Customer ID: Always Normally, the Customer's loyalty card number for the merchant represented by @MerchantID. ../CustOfferMaintReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional Customer Offer Maintenance Request: Encapsulates CustomerOffer maintenance request details for @OfferID and @MerchantID/@CustomerID above. ../CustOfferMaintReq/ Enumerated 8 Once Required Action: @Action String CustomerOffer maintenance action requested. Valid values: Add Replace Delete Activate

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Optional CustomerOffer Properties: CustOfferMaintReq/ Contains CustomerOffer CustOfferProperties Properties for @OfferID for @MerchantID/@CustomerID above. This element is required when /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/@Action = “Add” or “Replace” or “Activate”. It is not required when /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/@Action = “Delete”. ../CustOfferXactLimit String 2 Once Required Customer Offer Transaction Limit: Maximum number of times this offer may be used per transaction. Value = 0-9, or -1 (= unlimited). If value = 0, this CustomerOffer is not active. ../CustOfferCustLimit String 2 Once Required Customer Offer Customer Limit: Total number of times this offer may be used, across transactions. Value = 0-9, or -1 (= unlimited).

Customer Offer Rewards

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional CustomerOffer Rewards: CustOfferMaintReq/ Contains CustomerOffer Rewards CustOfferRewards for @OfferID for @MerchantID/@CustomerID above. This element is required when /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/@Action = “Add” or “Replace”. It is not required when /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/@Action = “Delete” or “Activate”. ../@RewardSetCount String 1 Once Required Reward Set Count: Number of Reward Set instances in this CustomerOffer[ ]. Value = 1-7 ../RewardSet[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Reward Set: List or Encapsulates the details of a Many single Reward Set. This element must contain only one of the following available Reward Set type elements: ItemDiscount DeptDiscount TotalDiscount ReplacementPriceMethod1 Note that CustOfferRewards for FreeItem are not meaningful. ../RewardSet[ ]/@RewardSetID Enumerated 1 Once Required Reward Set ID: String Value = 0-7 Value is determined by the @RewardSetID from the global @OfferID which is to be overlaid with the data in this RewardSet[ ]. Additionally, the @RewardSetID must refer to the same Reward Set type and be measured on the same @Basis as the global @OfferID, or an error will result. The system cannot successfully overlay the customer-specific data values onto the global Offer unless they are comparable. ../RewardSet[ ]/ItemDiscount Aggregate 0 Once Optional Item Discount: Element which encapsulates the details of the ItemDiscount Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ItemDiscount/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Basis: @Basis String Defines the basis on which Rewards will be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. See comments above regarding the need for compatibility with default rewards. ../RewardSet[ ]/ItemDiscount/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: BasisValue Metric of ../ItemDiscount/@Basis to be applied. If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the price of an item will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/DeptDiscount Aggregate 0 Once Optional Department Discount: Element which encapsulates the details of the DeptDiscount Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Basis: DeptDiscount/ String Defines the basis on which Rewards will @Basis be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. See comments above regarding the need for compatibility with default rewards. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: DeptDiscount/ Metric of BasisValue ../ItemDiscount/@Basis to be applied. If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the price of an item will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Total Discount: TotalDiscount Element which encapsulates the details of the TotalDiscount Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 8 Once Required Basis: TotalDiscount/@Basis String Defines the basis on which Rewards will be given: Valid values: “Percent” = Percentage off. “Amount” = Amount off. See comments above regarding the need for compatibility with default rewards. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Basis Value: TotalDiscount/BasisValue Metric of ../ItemDiscount/@Basis to be applied. If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Percent, then the value is the percentage discount in whole numbers. Value = 1-99 If ../ItemDiscount/@Basis = Amount, then the value is the discount amount in cents. Value = 1-2147483647 Note that the price of an item will never be reduced below zero. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Replacement Price Method 1: ReplacementPriceMethod1 Element which encapsulates the details of the ReplacementPriceMethod1 Reward Set type. ../RewardSet[ ]/ String 8 Once Required Deal Price: ReplacementPriceMethod1/ Total price, in cents, of DealPrice DealQuantity units, where DealQuantity is defined in the default Rewards for @OfferID. Value = 1-99999999

Customer Offer Store Routing

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional CustomerOffer Route Request: CustOfferRouteReq Encapsulates CustomerOffer[ ] store routing request details. ../StoreList[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store List: List or Encapsulates details of all Many stores for which the same @Action is required for this @OfferID and @MerchantID/@CustomerID. ../StoreList[ ]/@Action Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: String Defines maintenance operation to be performed for this StoreList[ ]. Valid values: Add Replace Delete Activate ../StoreList[ ]/@StoreCount String 10 Once Required Store Count: The number of ../StoreList/Store[ ] entries to follow. Value = 1-2147483647 ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store: List or Encapsulates the details of Many one store. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Store ID: StoreID Assigned by ECN. Unique Store Identifier. Valid value: 1-2147483647 ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Service Priority: ServicePriority Indicates maximum processing delay for requested routing service. Supported values for the Pilot: “15” = 15 Minutes “HR” = 1 Hour “ON” = Overnight “RT” = Real-time

As previously mentioned, the OfferAck document type is the positive acknowledgement returned by network 13 upon its successful processing of an offer document type. A preferred format for this type of document, including its header, is identified in a tabular format as shown below.

Header

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX Aggregate 0 Once Required Document Root Element: Always Identifies this as a SOX XML document. ../@Version String 3 Once Required SOX Version of File: Always Version of SOX to which this document conforms. Value = 1.0 ../@SOXType Enumerated 8 Once Required Sox Type: String Always Indicates type of SOX XML document. All SOX documents have this attribute with appropriate values. Value = OfferAck

Offer Document Acknowledgement.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/OfferAck Aggregate 0 Once Required Offer Acknowledgement: Encapsulates the acknowledgement of the receipt of the Offer document. ../DistributorID String 10 Once Required Distributor ID: @OfferDistributorID in the Offer document. ../AckRequested Enumerated 7 Once Required Acknowledgement Requested: String @AckRequested in the Offer document. ../SenderDocUID String 12 Once Required Sender's Document Unique ID: @SenderDocUID in the Offer document. ../SessionID String 12 Once Required Session ID: Generated by ECN. ECN ID for the session in which the Offer document was transmitted to the ECN. May be used for audit trail purposes. ../OffRcptCtrlID String 10 Once Required Offer Receipt Control ID: Generated by ECN. ECN identifier used for tracking the Offer document. ../SenderID String 8 Once Required Sender ID: Generated by ECN. ECN user ID under which the Offer document was transmitted to the ECN. ../Date Aggregate 0 Once Required Date: Generated by ECN. Date of OfferAck creation. ../Date/Year String 4 Once Required Year: Format: CCYY ../Date/Month String 2 Once Required Month: Format: MM ../Date/Day String 2 Once Required Day: Format: DD ../Time Aggregate 0 Once Required Time: Generated by ECN. Time of OfferAck creation. ../Time/Hour String 2 Once Required Hour: Format: HH ../Time/Minute String 2 Once Required Minute: Format: MM ../Time/Second String 2 Once Required Second: Format: SS ../TimeZone String 3 Once Required Time Zone: Generated by ECN. Time Zone for OfferAck creation timestamp.

With respect to the Offer Document Acknowledgement format, the DistributorID parameter identifies a unique identification value for the offer distributor distributing the offer. The AckRequested parameter reflects the requested level of acknowledgement identified in the @ AckRequested parameter of the header of the Offer document. The SenderDocUID parameter identifies the unique code identifying the XML document to its sender for audit trail purposes. The SessionID parameter is a unique identification value generated by network 13 identifying the session in which the Offer document was transmitted to it, and may also be used for audit trail purposes. The OffRcptCtrlID parameter is a unique identifier generated by network 13 for tracking the Offer document. The SenderID parameter is a unique identifier generated by network 13 representing the identity of the sender of the offer document under which the Offer document was transmitted to network 13. The Date and Time parameters are generated by the network 13 and identify the date and time, respectively, of the creation of the OfferAck document. A preferred format for the Offer Maintenance Request Acknowledgment and Offer Store Routing Acknowledgement identified in tabular format below.

Offer Maintenance Request Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer Aggregate 0 Once Required Offer: Encapsulates results of Offer processing. ../@OfferID String 12 Once Required Offer ID: @OfferID in the Offer document. ../OfferMaintReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Maintenance Request: This element will exist if it was present in the processed Offer document. Encapsulates results of Offer maintenance processing. ../OfferMaintReq/@ Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: Action String @Action in the Offer document. /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Optional Offer Properties: OfferProperties This element will exist if it was present in the processed Offer document. Encapsulates results of Offer Properties processing. ../Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success ../Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above. /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Conditions: OfferConditions This element will exist if it was present in the processed Offer document. Encapsulates results of Offer Conditions processing. ../@ConditionSetCount String 1 Once Required Condition Set Count: Count of ../ConditionSet[ ] elements to follow. ../ConditionSet[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Condition Set: List or Encapsulates the results of Many processing this @ConditionSetID. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Enumerated 1 Once Required Condition Set ID: @ConditionSetID String @ConditionSetID in the Offer document. ../ConditionSet[ ]/ String 9 Once Required Status: Status Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success ../ConditionSet[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: Result See result structure above. /SOX/Offer/OfferMaintReq/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Rewards: OfferRewards This element will exist if it was present in the processed Offer document. Encapsulates results of Offer Rewards processing. ../@RewardSetCount String 1 Once Required Reward Set Count: Count of ../RewardSet[ ] elements to follow. ../RewardSet[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Reward Set: List or Encapsulates the results of Many processing this @RewardSetID. ../RewardSet[ ]/ Enumerated 1 Once Required Reward Set ID: @RewardSetID String @RewardSetID in the Offer document. ../RewardSet[ ]/Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success ../RewardSet[ ]/Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above.

Offer Store Routing Acknowledgement.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/Offer/OfferRouteReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional Offer Routing Request: This element will exist if it was present in the processed Offer document. Encapsulates results of Offer routing processing. ../StoreList[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store List: List or Encapsulates the details of Many stores for which the same @Action is required. ../StoreList[ ]/@Action Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: String @Action in the Offer document. ../StoreList[ ]/@StoreCount String 10 Once Required Store Count: Count of ../Store[ ] elements to follow. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store: List or Encapsulates the details of one Many store. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Store ID: StoreID StoreID in the Offer document. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Service Priority: ServicePriority ServicePriority in the Offer document. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 9 Once Required Status: Status Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success Scheduled ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: Result See result structure above.

Likewise, a preferred format for the CustomerOfferAck document type (which has the same header format with a value for the @ SOXType parameter being “CustomerOfferAck,” and includes Offer Document Acknowledgement, CustomerOffer Maintenance Request Acknowledgement and CustomerOffer Store Routing Acknowledgement are provided below.

Offer Document Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustOfferAck Aggregate 0 Once Required CustomerOffer Acknowledgement: Encapsulates the acknowledgement of the receipt of the CustomerOffer document. ../DistributorID String 10 Once Required Distributor ID: @OfferDistributorID in the CustomerOffer document. ../AckRequested Enumerated 7 Once Required Acknowledgement Requested: String @AckRequested in the CustomerOffer document. ../SenderDocUID String 12 Once Required Sender's Document Unique ID: @SenderDocUID in the CustomerOffer document. ../SessionID String 12 Once Required Session ID: Generated by ECN. ECN ID for the session in which the CustomerOffer document was transmitted to the ECN. May be used for audit trail purposes. ../OffRcptCtrlID String 10 Once Required Offer Receipt Control ID: Generated by ECN. ECN identifier used for tracking the CustomerOffer document. ../SenderID String 8 Once Required Sender ID: Generated by ECN. ECN user ID under which the CustomerOffer document was transmitted to the ECN. ../Date Aggregate 0 Once Required Date: Generated by ECN. Date of CustomerOfferAck creation. ../Date/Year String 4 Once Required Year: Format: CCYY ../Date/Month String 2 Once Required Month: Format: MM ../Date/Day String 2 Once Required Day: Format: DD ../Time Aggregate 0 Once Required Time: Generated by ECN. Time of CustomerOfferAck creation. ../Time/Hour String 2 Once Required Hour: Format: HH ../Time/Minute String 2 Once Required Minute: Format: MM ../Time/Second String 2 Once Required Second: Format: SS ../TimeZone String 3 Once Required Time Zone: Generated by ECN. Time Zone for CustomerOfferAck creation timestamp.

Customer Offer Maintenance Request Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer Aggregate 0 One Required CustomerOffer: or Encapsulates results of Many CustomerOffer processing. ../@OfferID String 12 Once Required Offer ID: @OfferID in the CustomerOffer document. ../@MerchantID String 10 Once Required Merchant ID: @MerchantID in the CustomerOffer document. ../@CustomerID String 18 Once Required Customer ID: @CustomerID in the CustomerOffer document. ../CustOfferMaintReq Aggregate 0 Once Optional CustomerOffer Maintenance Request: This element will exist if it was present in the processed CustomerOffer document. Encapsulates results of CustomerOffer maintenance processing. ../CustOfferMaintReq/ Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: @Action String @Action in the CustomerOffer document. /SOX/CustomerOffer/ Aggregate 0 Optional CustomerOffer Properties: CustOfferMaintReq/ This element will exist if it CustOfferProperties was present in the processed CustomerOffer document. Encapsulates results of CustomerOffer Properties processing. ../Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success ../Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above. /SOX/CustomerOffer/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional CustomerOffer Rewards: CustOfferMaintReq/ This element will exist if it CustOfferRewards was present in the processed CustomerOffer document. Encapsulates results of CustomerOffer Rewards Processing. ../@RewardSetCount String 1 Once Required Reward Set Count: Count of ../RewardSet[ ] elements to follow. ../RewardSet[ ].. Aggregate 0 One Required Reward Set: List or Encapsulates the results of Many processing this @RewardSetID. ../RewardSet[ ]/@RewardSetID Enumerated 1 Once Required Reward Set ID: String @RewardSetID in the CustomerOffer document. ../RewardSet[ ]/Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success ../RewardSet[ ]/Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above.

Customer Offer Store Routing Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/CustomerOffer/ Aggregate 0 Once Optional CustomerOffer Routing Request: CustOfferRouteReq This element will exist if it was present in the processed CustomerOffer document. Encapsulates results of Offer routing processing. ../StoreList[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store List: List or Encapsulates the details of Many stores for which the same @Action is required. ../StoreList[ ]/@Action Enumerated 7 Once Required Action: String @Action in the CustomerOffer document. ../StoreList[ ]/@StoreCount String 10 Once Required Store Count: Count of ../Store[ ] elements to follow. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Store: List or Encapsulates the details of one Many store. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 10 Once Required Store ID: StoreID StoreID in the Offer document. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 2 Once Required Service Priority: ServicePriority ServicePriority in the Offer document. ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ String 9 Once Required Status: Status Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success Scheduled ../StoreList[ ]/Store[ ]/ Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: Result See result structure above.

As previously mentioned, the ErrorResponse document type is the negative acknowledgement returned by the network 13 upon encountering an error in the course of processing an Offer or Customer Offer document type. ErrorResponse documents adhere to the DTD represented as SOXErrorResponse.dtd in Appendix 1. The header for this document type is the same as that for the OfferAck and CustomerOfferAck document types, with the exception that the value for @ SOXType parameter is “ErrorResponse.” A preferred format for this document is shown in tabular format below.

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/ErrorResponse Aggregate 0 Once Required Error Response: Encapsulates the acknowledgement of the receipt of the Offer or CustomerOffer document. ../SenderDocUID String 12 Once Required Sender's Document Unique ID: @SenderDocUID in the Offer or CustomerOffer document. ../ErrorCode String 10 Once Required Error Code: Generated by ECN. Assigned according to the type and source of the Error Code. ../ErrorDescription String 255 Once Required Error Description: Generated by ECN. The Error default text. ../ErrorCondition String 255 Once Required Error Condition: Generated by ECN. Used to further explain the conditions that cause this Error code. ../ErrorMessage String 255 Once Required Error Message: Generated by ECN. ../ErrorSource String 255 Once Required Error Source: Generated by ECN. ../Date Aggregate 0 Once Required Date: Generated by ECN. Date of ErrorResponse creation. ../Date/Year String 4 Once Required Year: Format: CCYY ../Date/Month String 2 Once Required Month: Format: MM ../Date/Day String 2 Once Required Day: Format: DD ../Time Aggregate 0 Once Required Time: Generated by ECN. Time of ErrorResponse creation. ../Time/Hour String 2 Once Required Hour: Format: HH ../Time/Minute String 2 Once Required Minute: Format: MM ../Time/Second String 2 Once Required Second: Format: SS ../TimeZone String 3 Once Required Time Zone: Generated by ECN. Time Zone for ErrorResponse creation timestamp. ../SessionID String 12 Once Required Session ID: Generated by ECN. ECN ID for the session in which the CustomerOffer document was transmitted to the ECN. May be used for audit trail purposes. ../OffRcptCtrlID String 10 Once Required Offer Receipt Control ID: Generated by ECN. ECN identifier used for tracking the Offer or CustomerOffer document. ../SenderID String 8 Once Required Sender ID: Generated by ECN. ECN user ID under which the Offer or CustomerOffer document was transmitted to the ECN. ../DTDErrorList Aggregate 0 Once Required DTD Error List: Generated by ECN. Encapsulates reporting of DTD violations. ../DTDErrorList/ String 10 Once Required DTD Error Count: @DTDErrorCount Count of ../DTDError[ ] elements to follow. ../DTDErrorList/ Aggregate 0 One Required DTD Error: DTDError[ ] List or Encapsulates the details of one Many DTD error. ../DTDErrorList/ String 255 Once Required Path Name: DTDError[ ]/PathName Path of DTD Error within the XML document. ../DTDErrorList/ String 10 Once Required Error Code: DTDError[ ]/ErrorCode Assigned according to the type and source of the Error Code. ../DTDErrorList/ String 255 Once Required Error Message: DTDError[ ]/ErrorMessage Text description of the DTD Error.

In particular, the parameter SenderDocUID represents the unique code identifying the XML document to its sender. The ErrorCode parameter represents the code assigned by the network 13 for the type and source of the error. The ErrorDescription parameter represents a description of the error generated by the network 13. The ErrorCondition parameter is generated by the network 13 and represents the condition(s) that caused the generation of the error code. The ErrorMessage parameter identifies an error message generated by the network 13 based on the error code. The ErrorSource parameter represents the source of the error generated by the network 13. The Date and Time parameters identify the date and time, respectively, in which the ErrorResponse document is created. The SessionID parameter represents the identification value assigned by the network 13 for the session in which the Offer or CustomerOffer document was transmitted to the network 13. The OfrRptCtrlID parameter represents an identifier generated by the network 13 which is used for tracking the Offer or CustomerOffer document. The ServerID parameter represents the identification value generated by the network 13 under which the Offer or OfferCustomer document was transmitted to the network 13. The DTDErrorList element encapsulates the reporting of DTD violations, including the count of error containing elements to follow, the details of each DTD error, which comprises the path of the DTD error within the XML document, the error code, and the error message.

The details of the offers being distributed by each offer distributor 12 are electronically communicated to a network server 22 of system 10, such as an IBM RS6000 server, preferably in real time. Connections to server 22 are made over the Internet via the HTTP protocol using X.509 certificates to identify and authenticate the sender. Server 22 is configured to receive and authenticate all offers having a uniform format such as that previously described herein. With respect to offers distributed to customers in a non-interactive medium, the offer details are communicated to server 22 prior to being presented to the customers. In the case of a kiosk offer distributor, the offer is distributed via a communications network (not shown), such as the Internet, to a kiosk 16 in communication therewith. Kiosk 16 may be directly in communication with the POS system 27 of the store in which it is located.

System 10 generates point-of-sale (POS) maintenance files that reflect all of the offers received from the offer distributors 12 and authenticated by server 22. These files are stored within a database of network 13 (not shown), preferably in a consolidated manner whereby information related to all offers available from various offer distributors at a given retailer can be viewed online by customers via a browser interface 30 thereto. These files may be forwarded to the appropriate retailer 26 for placement on the POS systems 27 of the relevant stores 28 in which the offer is valid or a server of network 13 such as server 22 may place the files directly on the POS system 27 of the relevant stores 28 in which the offer is valid.

In one embodiment, network 13 provides for the possibility of cooperation between agents and partners in presenting offers to customers or in recording the customer's acceptance of an offer. Once a business relationship between the cooperating parties is established, the network 13 sets up the proper information pathways so that the XML documents created by the network 13 can be routed to agents or partners for the purpose of synchronizing information between the parties so that everyone has an exact copy of the information received by the network 13 from the offer distributors 12. The preferred formats of the relevant Offer Agent Server Routing, CustomerOffer Agent Server Routing, Agent Server Offer Acknowledgement and Agent Server Customer Offer Acknowledgement documents are described below.

Offer Agent Server Routing

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/TargetServerList Aggregate 0 Once Optional Target Server List: This element is not required. Defines Agent servers to which this document is to be forwarded. ../@ServerCount String 6 Once Required Server Count: The number of ../TargetServerList/Server[ ] entries to follow. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Server: List or Encapsulates details for one Many Agent server. ../Server[ ]ServerID String 6 Once Required Agent Server ID: Assigned by the ECN Target Agent Server ID to Receive a copy of this document. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ]/ServicePriority String 2 One Required Service Priority: Indicates maximum processing delay for requested routing service. Supported values: “15” = 15 Minutes “HR” = 1 Hour “ON” = Overnight “RT” = Real-time

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/TargetServerList Aggregate 0 Once Optional Target Server List: This element is not required. Defines Agent servers to which this document is to be forwarded. ../@ServerCount String 6 Once Required Server Count: The number of ../TargetServerList/Server[ ] entries to follow. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Server: List or Encapsulates details for one Many Agent server. ../Server[ ]/ServerID String 6 Once Required Agent Server ID: Assigned by the ECN. Target Agent Server ID to receive a copy of this document. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ]/ServicePriority String 2 Once Required Service Priority: Indicates maximum processing delay for requested routing service. Supported values: “15” = 15 Minutes “HR” = 1 Hour “ON” = Overnight “RT” = Real-time

Agent Server Offer Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/TargetServerList Aggregate 0 Once Optional Target Server List: This element will exist if it was present in the Offer document, and encapsulates the results of Server Routing Request processing. ../@ServerCount String 6 Once Required Server Count: Count of ../TargetServerList/Server[ ] elements to follow. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Server: List or Encapsulates details for one Many Agent server. ../Server[ ]/ServerID String 6 Once Required ServerID: Requested ServerID. ../Server[ ]/ServicePriority String 2 Once Required Service Priority: Requested service priority. ../Server[ ]/Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success Scheduled ../Server[ ]/Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above.

Agent Server Customer Offer Acknowledgement

XML Element/Attribute Max Tag Data Type Len Occur Usage Description /SOX/TargetServerList Aggregate 0 Once Optional Target Server List: This element will exist if it was present in the CustomerOffer document, and encapsulates the results of Server Routing Request processing. ../@ServerCount String 6 Once Required Server Count: Count of ../TargetServerList/Server[ ] elements to follow. Value = 1-999999 ../Server[ ] Aggregate 0 One Required Server: List or Encapsulates details for one Many Agent server. ../Server[ ]/ServerID String 6 Once Required ServerID: Requested ServerID. ../Server[ ]/ServicePriority String 2 Once Required Service Priority: Requested service priority. ../Server[ ]/Status String 9 Once Required Status: Generated by ECN. Valid Values: Success Scheduled ../Server[ ]/Result Aggregate 0 Once Required Result: See result structure above.

Customers redeem offers at a store electronically preferably via their loyalty cards or some other identification mechanism during the checkout process. The POS system 26 of that store integrates the offer details in the POS maintenance files received from server 22 into its POS master offer detail files so that the condition(s) associated with the offers can be validated. In a preferred embodiment, the validation is performed by FREEDOM-Shopper sold by Matra Systems. In one embodiment, this process is performed in batch mode given the processing-intensive nature of the operation that could adversely affect daily checkout operations.

POS system 26 generates transaction log files for any transactions at the stores 28 involving offers distributed by the offer distributors 12. These transaction log files are forwarded to system 10 for clearance and settlement. Clearing is the set of functions required to collect and analyze the transaction log files received by POS system 26 to extract the detail of the rewards given or due to customers, and to prepare the details of settlement required by the settlement agent. Clearing also includes extracting information from the transaction log files and comparing it against the corresponding offer details stored within the databases of network 13 in order to validate same. In one embodiment, clearance is performed via a program on the server 22 of the network 13. In a preferred embodiment, offer distributors 12 are notified of the redemption of their respective offers by means of a query service or XML-based data feed provided by server 22.

Once each offer is cleared, settlement of the offer with the appropriate settlement agent is performed. Settlement is the process of ensuring that the financial obligations associated with each offer are carried out. Specifically, the retailer is reimbursed for the value of rewards deducted from customer transactions involving offers. Payment must be arranged for fees due to the retailer and other parties for the processing and handling of the offer. Such settlement details are communicated electronically to a settlement agent 34 to complete settlement of the offer with the respective parties to the transaction.

Due to the centralized nature of the system 10 and the standardization of offers provided by the network 13, retailers can automatically accept offers from a plurality of different offer distributors, thereby relieving their burden to maintain sophisticated customer/price management systems. Moreover, system 10 allows paperless offer clearing at the POS level. In addition, system 10 provides for automatic settlement of offers which helps accelerate payment of the financial obligations associated therewith. In addition, given the centralized nature of the transaction information stored within the network 13, directories can be set up by network 13 whereby offer distributors, customers, stores, and other interested parties can easily look up information related to offers provided through network 13.

Furthermore, network 13 provides for the dynamic targeting of customers. The value of customer targeting is derived from wasting less money on promotional activity. Promotions are inherently wasteful because a large amount of the expenditures are not used to alter customer behavior. Promotion costs can be classified primarily into three areas; namely media costs, redemption costs and handling and administrative costs. Media costs are the cost of exposing customers to a promotion offer. Media costs include the advertising cost for placing promotional ads in newspapers, magazines, or on the Internet offer, and direct mail cost to send offers to households. Redemption costs are the cost of the discount. Cash discounts and other rewards have direct costs. Handling and administrative costs are inherent with coupon offers, which generally have costs associated with having the coupons counted and for billing and administration. Additionally, coupon issuers provide a fee to the retailer to cover their costs in handling the coupon. Moreover, all promotions require systems to accrue, track and generally administer promotions.

The value of an offer is equal to the profit for incremental sales less the sum of media, redemption and handling and administrative costs associated therewith. Targeting offers can impact the value of an offer dramatically by lowering the overall costs and more particularly the cost per incremental case. Dynamic customer targeting is greatly enhanced by the system 10, specifically, due to the centralized nature in which the network 13 manages offer transactions. In particular, system 10 categorizes customer profiles into three types; namely static, persistent and dynamic. Static profiles represent lifestyle and geo-demographic characteristics and are not changed by marketing activities. Persistent profiles are characterized by buying behavior that is relatively stable and only somewhat altered by marketing activities. Dynamic profiles are characterized by buying behavior that can directly be attributed to marketing activities like discounts and new product introductions.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the process of dynamic customer targeting according to the present invention is described. For the purposes of discussion, it will be assumed that customers are identified to the network 13 through a loyalty card. However, it can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that any method of customer identification can be used. At 100, a customer is identified via a loyalty card being scanned at the checkout counter of a store. At 102, the POS system of that store tracks a plurality of information such as the customer's identification number, the time, the checkout lane, the products purchased, the prices paid and the quantities purchased. At 104, the POS system matches this information with information stored within the POS system, such as full pricing information, discount information, display activity, advertising activity and baseline sales, to create a customer profile. At 106, the profile is transmitted to the network 13 and at 108, the profile is appended to a “master” database stored within a database of the network 13. At 110, the customer profile is queried against this database to create the static, persistent and dynamic profiles at 112. At 114, the customer profiles are forwarded to the appropriate offer distributor 12 so they can dynamically target customers based on such profiles.

To illustrate the advantages of dynamic profiling, FIGS. 3A-D illustrate an example of an offer for spaghetti sauce distributed based on a non-targeted profile, a static profile, a persistent profile and a dynamic profile, respectively. As shown, the dynamic profile provides a net value of $24,000, while the non-targeted and static profiles provide no value, and the persistent profile provides only a $3,975 value. Therefore, for spaghetti sauce, it is unlikely that static profile will greatly distinguish large numbers of spaghetti sauce customers from non-spaghetti sauce customer. In other words, static profile type offers will not add to the value of the promotion.

The foregoing constitutes a description of various features of a preferred embodiment. Numerous changes to the preferred embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Hence, the scope of the invention should be determined with reference not to the preferred embodiment, but to the following claims. 

1-30. (canceled)
 31. A method of electronic management of electronic offer transactions comprising: (a) receiving a plurality of offers redeemable at a plurality of stores, the offers containing information from a plurality of different offer distributors wherein the offers do not have a standard format that can be read by all point-of-sale systems of all retailers at which such offers may be redeemed; (b) transforming the information contained in the plurality of offers to create standardized electronic offers having a standard format; (c) electronically distributing the standardized electronic offers to a network server over the internet; (d) electronically generating point-of-sale maintenance files by the server that reflect all of the offers received from the plurality of different offer distributors; and (e) electronically forwarding the point-of-sale maintenance files from the server to an appropriate retailer for placement on a point-of-sale system of the retailer in which the offer is valid, wherein due to the transformation of the offers provided by the network, retailers can automatically accept offers from the plurality of different offer distributors.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the retailer's point-of-sale system has master offer detail files in which the point-of-sale maintenance files are integrated so that the conditions associated with the offers can be validated.
 33. The method of claim 31 further comprising generating transaction log files by the point-of-sale system for any transaction at the store involving electronic offers distributed by the offer distributors.
 34. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for generating a report, said method comprising: (a) receiving a plurality of offers redeemable at a plurality of stores, the officers containing information from a plurality of different offer distributors wherein the offers do not have a standard format that can be read by all point-of-sale systems of all retailers at which such offers may be redeemed; (b) transforming the information contained in the plurality of offers to create standardized electronic offers having a standard format; (c) electronically distributing the standardized electronic offers to a network server over the internet; (d) electronically generating point-of-sale maintenance files by the server that reflect all of the offers received from the plurality of different offer distributors; and (e) electronically forwarding the point-of-sale maintenance files from the server to an appropriate retailer for placement on a point-of-sale system of the retailer in which the offer is valid, wherein due to the transformation of the offers provided by the network, retailers can automatically accept offers from the plurality of different offer distributors.
 35. The computer program product of claim 34 further comprising storing the point-of-sale maintenance files in a database on the network so that information related to all offers available from various offer distributors at a given retailer can be viewed online by customers via a browser interface to the database.
 36. A method of electronic management of electronic offer transactions comprising: (a) receiving a plurality of offers redeemable at a plurality of stores, the offers containing information from a plurality of different offer distributors wherein the offers do not have a standard format that can be read by all point-of-sale systems of all retailers at which such offers may be redeemed; (b) transforming the information contained in the plurality of offers to create standardized electronic offers; (c) electronically distributing the standardized electronic offers to a network server over the internet; (d) electronically generating point-of-sale maintenance files by the server that reflect all of the offers received from the plurality of different offer distributors; and (e) storing the point-of-sale maintenance files in a database on the network so that information related to all offers available from various offer distributors at a given retailer can be viewed online by customers via a browser interface to the database.
 37. The method of claim 36 further comprising: electronically forwarding the point-of-sale maintenance files to an appropriate retailer for placement on a point-of-sale system of the retailer in which the offer is valid, wherein due to the transformation of the offers provided by the network, retailers can automatically accept offers from the plurality of different offer distributors.
 38. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for generating a report, said method comprising: (a) receiving a plurality of offers redeemable at a plurality of stores, the offers containing information from a plurality of different offer distributors wherein the offers do not have a standard format that can be read by all point-of-sale systems of all retailers at which such offers may be redeemed; (b) transforming the information contained in the plurality of offers to create standardized electronic offers; (c) electronically distributing the standardized electronic offers to a network server over the internet; (d) electronically generating point-of-sale maintenance files by the server that reflect all of the offers received from the plurality of different offer distributors; and (e) storing the point-of-sale maintenance files in a database on the network so that information related to all offers available from various offer distributors at a given retailer can be viewed online by customers via a browser interface to the database.
 39. A computer program product further comprising computer readable program code for forwarding the point-of-sale maintenance files to an appropriate retailer for placement on a point-of-sale system of the retailer in which the offer is valid, wherein due to the transformation of the offers provided by the network, retailers can automatically accept offers from the plurality of different offer distributors. 